They had come in their tens of thousands, braving the first blast of winter and the icy political climate.

But by late last night, animated by the buzz of victory in Ukraine's electoral stand-off, the orange-tinted opposition was glowing with exhilaration as the rush of triumph coursed through the ranks massed in Kiev's Independence Square.

Some blew orange horns, others waved orange flags, many howled their delight. Cars honked their approval in time with the inevitable chant: "Yu-shchen-ko."

They had come, after all, to ensure that their presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was not cheated of electoral victory in last month's fraudulent run-off vote. The supreme court's decision to invalidate the ballot and require a new one within three weeks gave them everything they wanted.

"We have proved that we are a nation that can defend our choice," Mr Yushchenko told the jubilant crowd last night. "Justice and freedom are coming back to Ukraine, thanks to you real heroes."

"This is the only decision we have been waiting for," said Anatoly, an engineer marching in the throng, which had grown substantially through the day as more flocked to the capital to hear the supreme court decision.

Maxim, a coal miner from Lvov, told Reuters: "It's a victory. We've been out here for 12 days now and I can tell you, it's been worth it. But the big battle is still ahead.

"Our big victory will be when we see Yushchenko inaugurated as president."

As the electoral impasse has ground on for the past fortnight, the spirit, organisation and determination of the crowds in central Kiev has emerged as perhaps the most compelling aspect of Ukraine's democratic convulsion.

Many of the diehards in the crowds have been young professional people taking time away from their jobs to ensure a proper resolution to the electoral stalemate.

Alexander Lidtvorets, for example, was an unassuming 27-year-old provincial lawyer until a few days ago.

His journey from the sleepy north-west industrial town of Rivno to the centre of the turmoil in Kiev has epitomised the willingness of Ukrainians to ensure electoral fair play.

"I came here because I am a patriot," he said yesterday, shortly before the supreme court announced its decision.

For two days he stood in the square, joining the incessant chanting. But after volunteering for a "security detail", he soon became part of a huge people's militia policing the crowds that sprawl across the city and controlling access to official buildings.

At first they and the crowd appeared to follow a chain of command which began with Mr Yushchenko. But before last night's supreme court decision there had been signs of dissent in the ranks, as part of the crowd grew increasingly disenchanted with their leaders and less keen for compromise.

On at least one occasion protesters tried to storm parliament, and the youth activist group Pora said before yesterday's decision that it had split from Mr Yushchenko's mainstream support.

But others suggest that the week of delays combined with the continuing protest had actually brought the crowds closer to the political process.

Slava Vakarchuk, lead singer with the band Okean Elzy, who has appeared regularly on stage to buoy up the protesters, said: "This last week may have been very boring, but it has been very important. For the first time in 13 years the opposition has managed to sack the government."

He added: "Only now do the people understand that this orange revolution cannot just be about songs and demonstrations in the square.

"It has to be a political process too, but now the people know they are part of that process."

For a few hours at least, however, songs and celebrations were the order of the night. "We are going to dance and party until dawn.

"We are going to turn Kiev into a huge dancefloor," said Taras, 19, a student from western Ukraine.

The hope of the protesters is that the new election will produce an unequivocal victor and heal the divisions that have become so apparent in the past two weeks.

That may prove harder to achieve. The elation in Kiev contrasted markedly with the mood in the east of the country, the stronghold of Mr Yushchenko's rival Viktor Yanukovich.

"We have a president - Viktor Yanukovich," said Konstantin Sadalsky, shaking his fist at a TV screen in the eastern city of Donetsk.

30 Opposition supporters walk out of EU-mediated talks and protesters try to break into parliament as pro-government lawmakers block no confidence motion against Yanukovich. Donetsk backs away from vote on self-rule. PM says he could agree to new vote if Yushchenko also agrees not to take part. Vladimir Putin says crisis must be resolved without foreign meddling

December

1 Parliament votes no confidence in government. EU-brokered talks between candidates show momentum towards new ballot

2 Kuchma flies to Moscow to meet Putin, who attacks opposition demand for new runoff and cautions the west against getting too involved. France and Germany call for a new election and European parliament says runoff should be repeated. George Bush warns against outside interference in any future vote

3 Court declares runoff invalid and orders repeat, to be held by December 26